I thank all the Whips for their comments on the fishing community, the termination of pregnancy, Iran, Shannon Airport and energy costs. The Order of Business stands as set out and as circulated to all the Whips. However, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, will come in during the week to take statements on Iran and I will engage with the Whips in the afternoon.

I move: That, pursuant to Standing Order 223(1), the following Committees may complete their consideration of the Estimates for Public Services for the year ending 31st December, 2026, standing referred to them pursuant to Standing Order 222(2), later than the eightieth day and not later than the one hundredth day, being the 27th day of March, 2026, after the Estimates had been so referred: — the Select Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport (Vote 33); and — the Select Committee on Education an…

I thank the Senator for articulating a pressing issue. It is a question I have answered many times in the Seanad and the Dáil. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health. I am grateful to her for the opportunity to address the issue of access to oral healthcare services for children, including orthodontic treatment. The HSE oral healthcare service aims to provide an oral examination and necessary treatment for children at ages approximating to second and sixth class and, in some cases, fourth clas…

There is nothing the Senator is saying that I disagree with. The Government invests annually in oral healthcare with a figure of €240 million this year alone. Over €20 million has been allocated to waiting list initiatives for contracted orthodontic care, resulting in more than 5,200 removals from waiting lists since 2020. This includes a dedicated orthodontic surgery programme that has delivered treatment for an additional 206 patients to date. This funding will continue in 2026 with a further €2.85 million being …

I begin by acknowledging the concerns raised in the recent "RTÉ Investigates" programme on forensic mental health services. While I am not a clinician, my responsibility is to maintain public confidence in this essential service for a highly vulnerable group of patients and for the dedicated staff who care for them. I have asked the HSE for full reports on the cases highlighted in the programme, particularly those involving the Central Mental Hospital. I have also asked that all appropriate care options for the ind…

I do not think the Senator listened to my answer, to be fair. I am ambitious enough and I can give him the response because I am the person who secured the funding last year to hire 45 additional very specific staff to work in the national forensic hospital. It is not that these staff are sitting on unemployment lists all over the country; they are hard to get. That is the first point. We recruited 45 of them, including 41 to open 18 beds. We opened two beds in December and will open the other 16 on a gradual basis…

I thank the Deputy for her question. In fairness, she has always been a strong advocate for supports for those with eating disorders. It is the most debilitating mental health illness that you can have. We have made progress over the past five years. Some 95% of all those with an eating disorder are treated in the community. We have 14 of the 16 teams funded; 11 of them are in place and we are recruiting the other five. Two more were announced in budget 2026. I know the Deputy will be happy to hear that yesterday, …

I stand today to add my support to the State apology to the victims of horrendous abuse in industrial and reformatory schools. There are not enough words to outline the abuse and absolute horror suffered by these survivors and all victims of abuse. Many of those have lived and suffered in silence. They suffered the stigma for decades and have struggled with pain and anguish. These were children placed in these industrial schools. We know they suffered the most horrendous mistreatment but they had courage and convic…

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Statements on Fishing Quotas (not to exceed 2 hours and 25 minutes) Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Special Needs Assistants, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday's business shall be: - Statements on Special Needs Assistants (not to exceed 2 hours and 25 minutes) - Apology related to childhood abuse (hunger strikers): Statements (to commence no earlier than 3.37 p.m. and not to exceed 1 hour and 44 minutes) - International Protection Bill 2026 (Committee…

I will respond.

I have noted all the comments from the various Whips. I will facilitate an urgent debate in relation to CAMHS. I was in Kerry on Thursday and Friday of last week. I felt it was important to respond to the parents first. We will put that on the agenda for next week. In relation to the other requests for debates, this week we are facilitating statements on fisheries and homelessness, which were sought two or three weeks ago. We can give consideration to all the requests that have been made at the Business Committee o…

I responded to that at the Business Committee last Thursday. The Order of Business stands.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I welcome the opportunity to address the House. The Government recognises that waiting times for many scheduled appointments and procedures are too long, not only in Cork, but in hospitals throughout the country. The multi-annual action plan approach was initiated in September 2021 to substantially reduce and reform hospital waiting lists and waiting times. Since the commencement of the action plan approach, the health service has seen significant progress in red…

I thank the Deputy for the manner in which he has raised this issue. I can give him a bit of good news. The HSE south-west region employs 12 whole-time equivalent consultant orthopaedic surgeons based at Cork University Hospital and the South Infirmary Hospital. One vacant whole-time equivalent post is due to be filled by March 2026, which should have an impact. To return to the waiting list, in the last six months, 3,174 people have come onto the waiting list, and a significant number are waiting over 18 months. T…

I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue and giving me the opportunity to provide an update to the House on paediatric dermatology services in the HSE south west. Those services are provided through primary care services, regional dermatology services and specialist dermatology services based in Children's Health Ireland, CHI, in Dublin. Paediatric dermatology services in the south-west region are primarily provided in Cork from the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, which serves as the…

I have a briefing note here that states that CHI has a staffing complement of 8.8 whole-time consultant dermatologists. These are 8.8 whole-time equivalent, or funded recurring consultant dermatologists, across three CHI sites but it is currently operating within 6.3 whole-time equivalents. That is the information I have. I also know from my own area, and Deputy Michael Murphy will be aware of this as well, that in the old CHO 5 area, for example, dermatology consultants are scarce and it is difficult to recruit th…

On behalf of the Minister for Health, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I acknowledge the number of times he has raised it. I have answered him several times in relation to this. As I go through the answer, for anyone listening in, it will become very clear that every effort has been made to try to recruit staff, but the HSE just has not been able to do so. As the Deputy knows, the HSE provides optical services free of charge to preschool children and national school children referred from child…

I can confirm that the post was upgraded to that of consultant medical ophthalmologist and obviously that may be one of the reasons it was not as sought after as it was. Several recruitment campaigns have been run and to date the HSE has been unable to fill the post. The post is funded as well, so it is not a financial issue. Several eligible candidates have applied in the latest recruitment campaign, which closed on 21 January. Shortlisting will commence on 27 February, with interviews anticipated to take place in…

I hope I will be able to give the Deputy some clarity. I thank him for asking the question, which I am answering on behalf of the Minister for Health. I acknowledge the Deputy's dedication to the people of Galway and beyond on raising these important health issues. I can assure him that the Government is committed to increasing elective-only day case capacity through the elective ambulatory care programme. This is being delivered in two phases, a national network of surgical hubs in the first instance to meet mediu…

I thank the Deputy. In relation to the elective treatment centres, known as elective hospitals, the HSE and the Minister remain committed to developing these in Cork, Galway and Dublin. They will take longer to develop. In the short term, as the programme has developed and evolved, the HSE has determined the most appropriate design for the new facilities. The introduction of the surgical hubs was not originally envisaged when elective hospitals were first proposed. The significant additional capacity being provided…